At a time when many colleges and universities across the country are raising tuition rates between 5 and 11 percent, the Benedictine University Board of Trustees has approved an increase that will raise tuition and fees for full-time undergraduates just 4 percent from a year ago.
Tuition for the 2008-2009 academic year will cost full-year undergraduates $10,800 per semester or $21,600 per school year, an increase of 4 percent over 2007-2008. Fees, which had not experienced an increase in six years, rose from $510 to 710 per year.
“Every year we fight the battle between the rising cost of education and oppressive tuition increases that would force some of our students to assume more debt or forego a private Catholic college education completely,” said Charles Gregory, executive vice president of Benedictine University. “Neither of those alternatives is acceptable.
“Our board determined that a modest 4 percent increase would allow us to continue to provide a quality yet affordable education to our students,” Gregory added. “Meanwhile, it also serves as a signal that we must continue to search for additional, alternate funding sources that will help alleviate the financial burden placed on students.”
Benedictine University has not had a tuition increase of more than 6 percent since 1999-2000. Since 2001, annual tuition increases at Benedictine have averaged 5 percent.

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Benedictine University is located in Lisle, Illinois, just 25 miles west of Chicago, and has branch campuses in Springfield, Illinois, and Mesa, Arizona. Founded as a Catholic university in 1887, Benedictine enrolls nearly 10,000 students in 56 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs. Forbes magazine named Benedictine among "America's Top Colleges" for the sixth consecutive year in 2016. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org). For more information, contact (630) 829-6300, admissions@ben.edu or visit ben.edu.